Our responsibility to the people of Ukraine
17-year-old Canadian student Michelle Kutny reflects on her Ukrainian heritage and calls on the international community to help those affected by the war.
On February 24, 2022, after weeks of immense tension and threats, Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, the situation has not eased and has only become more violent. To date, more than 1,800 civilians have been killed and 2,800 injured in the conflict, and some 10 million Ukrainian citizens have been forced to flee their homes for safety.
I live in Vancouver, Canada, and have watched the conflict unfold from half a world away. Yet even with so much physical distance between me and those in Ukraine, I can’t help but feel their pain. My great-great-grandparents immigrated to Canada from Ukraine after World War I. They arrived on a ship in 1929 with their two young sons. Soon after, my great-grandpa, whose Ukrainian name was Bogdan Kutny, was born, along with another brother and a sister.
Sadly, this is all I know about my great-great-grandparents and their journey from Ukraine. Years ago, when my dad was growing up, his whole family got together and celebrated Ukrainian Christmas with all the traditional Ukrainian food, including holubtsi (cabbage rolls), varenyky (pierogies) and borshch (beet soup). But this tradition stopped when I was still a baby. My family integrated into Canadian society and embraced being Canadian. My great-grandpa went by Don and became as Canadian as they come — a regular at the Tim Hortons restaurant five minutes from our house, he’d order three black coffees and three breakfast sandwiches on cinnamon raisin bagels every morning for him, my grandpa and my dad.
I’ve always felt like a piece of me was missing because of a lack of connection to my Ukrainian roots. And yet, for as long as I can remember, I have always known from the way my family spoke that there was tension between Ukraine and Russia. In 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, a region of Ukraine, I was too young to understand the implications of the events and the fighting that followed. But just after my 17th birthday in January 2022, the news stations in Vancouver started reporting on the possibility of conflict in Eastern Europe. In the beginning, I didn’t truly believe that the tension in the region would come to a full-out war. When the news came that Russia had invaded Ukraine, I was devastated. Fear, sadness and anger settled into the pit of my stomach. My main concern was for the safety of Ukrainian citizens. I didn’t see any reason for them to get involved, and I hoped they would be left alone. This did not turn out to be the case.
As I watched millions of Ukrainians flee their homes in the weeks that followed, my heart was crushed. This experience has made me feel closer to Ukraine than ever before. I have developed a strong sense of protectiveness for the people there who have lost their lives and homes to war. I have extended family left in Ukraine, and though I don’t know them, it is hard not to wonder if they are safe and where they are.
Seeing news footage of the explosions, the fathers hugging their wives and children goodbye and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pleas for international aid made me ache to help. I knew there was very little I could do personally. But NATO, the U.N. and the American and Canadian governments could — and still can — act. Although many governments around the world, including mine, have introduced economic sanctions to combat Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, these are unlikely to stop the war. I am frustrated that governments and organizations that exist to protect world peace aren’t doing more to help the people still living in Ukraine and the millions of Ukrainian refugees now spread out across the world.
While some countries, like those part of the European Union, have opened their borders for Ukrainian refugees and are offering them a safe place to live for at least a year, others don’t appear to have the same commitment. The U.K. will only offer visas to Ukrainians who have someone willing to host them in the country. The U.S. is difficult to get into as it still requires undergoing the full visa process, which has been even more slow-moving than usual because of COVID-19 protocols. This refugee crisis is clearly an emergency — governments need to remove the red tape and clear the way for Ukrainians arriving on their shores. Additionally, most of the 3.5 million refugees from Ukraine have so far fled to small neighboring countries like Poland and Romania, who cannot handle the responsibility alone. Larger, high-income countries like Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. need to step forward and support these governments with the funding they need to provide for the new arrivals they’ve taken in.
Thankfully Canada has fast-tracked its visa process, making it much easier for refugees to get in. The first ones have already started arriving. But I would like to see our leaders do more now to ensure that refugees can adjust to life in our country as quickly and easily as possible, especially those without family to stay with. Canada has a large Ukrainian population, and these communities will be vital in helping new arrivals access civil services and feel welcome in their new home. I want our government to offer extra resources to organizations like the Ukrainian Community Society of Ivan Franko and the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians who are coordinating volunteer efforts, organizing supply drives and helping Ukrainian refugees fill out paperwork and obtain necessities like clothing and shelter.
In the meantime, I am chaneling my frustration into doing what I can from where I am. As more and more Ukrainian cultural sites are destroyed in the war, I’m determined to keep Ukrainian culture alive within my family and within myself. I am researching traditional Ukrainian food and art, and I hope to bring back traditions like Ukrainian Christmas. I want to know more about where I came from, and I hope that someday I’ll finally see the place and meet the people who have captured my heart.
I’m also putting together a program with a few friends to help Ukrainian refugees in my community settle in. Together, we’re working on creating care packages full of basic necessities and a few treats to help them feel welcome. If you want to help too, there are many places to donate to, including the Ukrainian Red Cross and the United Nations Children’s Fund. Additionally, if you live in a country like Canada which is taking in refugees, look in your area to see if you have a Ukrainian society or cultural organization. They are often happy to have volunteers to help cook, practice English with those who have recently arrived and put together care packages.
My great-grandpa, Don, passed away last October. I miss him, but I am relieved he isn’t here to watch his homeland fall to war. His parents arrived in Canada to escape war-torn Europe nearly a century ago. They were in search of a peaceful place to raise their family. Now, millions of Ukrainians are seeking the same as they arrive on foreign shores. My heart is especially with the young children who may not remember their birthplace or return there again. I hope the international community can help Ukrainians keep their roots and culture while making them feel welcome in their new surroundings. I hope we embrace them with open arms, that we offer them the same good, safe and prosperous life my family found in Canada many years ago.